𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝘀𝗵𝗲𝘀 ~ 𝗞𝗹𝗮𝘂𝘀 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘃𝗲𝘀

~ Chapter Two ~

𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐃𝐚𝐲...

It had been nearly seventeen years since The Umbrella Academy's mission at the bank. They had since disbanded and left to pursue their own lives and passions. Dusk tried hard to put The Academy behind her ever since her brother Ben died. She tried to protect him, and she blamed herself every day for what happened and convinced herself that if she and her siblings had done differently, he would still be alive. As time went on, there was only one way she could get her mind off of it. And that was with music.

When she left the superhero life, she pursued a career as a musician, hoping that a huge record label would eventually take notice of her talent and motivation. She dreamed of having sold-out concerts but settled for small gigs at nightclubs and bars as she took the long road to her achievement. She loved performing, and in return, people had loved her and her music. She was slowly but surely making her dreams come true. She even managed to find love and get engaged to an aspiring rapper.

"Thank you, good night!" Dusk called out to the crowd as she wrapped up her final song. She walked off the stage to see the nightclub owner smiling at her. "Great performance tonight, Dusk!" He nodded in approval. "Thank you so much, Mr. Maloney," She smiled as he handed her a handful of cash. It wasn't much, but it was enough to help her and her fiancé, Sebastian pay for their tiny apartment.

As she walked through the rainy night, her umbrella clutched in her hand, the glow of a television screen in the shop window caught her eye. A picture flashed onscreen, and her jaw dropped when she saw the headline. "Sir Reginald Hargreeves Is Dead," "Dad," she barely whispered. She never got along with her adopted father, but it still shocked her that he had passed on. When she returned to her apartment building, the raven fumbled through the six different keys on her chain until she finally unlocked her door.

"Sebastian? Are you here?" she called out, setting her bags on the floor. No response. She called out his name again, and the only noise she heard was a loud snore. Her ears perked up with confusion. He's never in bed at this time of night. Quiet as a mouse, she crept over to their bedroom and saw that the door was closed. She opened it a little, enough to look at their bed. Sure enough, he was in there, but as Dusk opened it a little more, she realized someone else was in bed with him. "What the hell is going on in here?!" She shouted, turning on the lights and waking him and his lover from their sleep.

"Dusky, you're home!" Sebastian said, stumbling to put his shorts on. "Don't you 'Dusky' me! Who is she, and why is she in our apartment?!" Dusk scoffed. The girl quickly got out of bed and threw her clothes on, running past Dusk and out the door. "This is what you've been doing while I'm on stage?!" She asked, shock and anger filling her from head to toe. "Dusk-" Sebastian began, but she interrupted him, and the two of them got into a heated argument, not caring if the neighbors heard them and were calling the police to complain.

"Well, if you weren't so busy all the time, maybe I wouldn't have done this!" Sebastian shouted. "Don't blame me! I didn't make you cheat on me! You did that entirely on your own!" Dusk shouted back, feeling hot as the corners of her eyes began to show flames. "Pack your shit and go stay with someone else!" She growled, throwing an empty duffel bag onto the bed. She looked down at the diamond engagement ring on her left finger and pulled it off. "Oh, and I don't need this anymore," she said, slamming it onto the bedside table before locking herself in the bathroom.

She pressed her back against the door and crumpled into a ball, listening as Sebastian packed his stuff and the front door slammed shut. Tears of anger and betrayal slipped down her cheeks, as she contemplated and guessed how long this infidelity was going on. A week? A month? Maybe our whole damn relationship?! A half an hour later, she opened the bathroom door, and grabbed some blankets and a pillow from her closet, setting up a little bed on the maroon leather couch. She couldn't bear sleeping in the bed after what she saw. 

Dusk tossed and turned throughout the night as the lightning strikes grew louder with every flash. And it didn't help that the flashback of her walking in on Sebastian and his fling kept replaying like a broken record. She glanced at the cable box, the time reading, 2:30 am. She groaned and buried her face into the pillow. After a while, she gave up and started scrolling through her charging phone, blocking her ex from calling or messaging her on her socials. 

It felt lonely in the apartment, and she wanted the feeling to go away. But she didn't have many friends to turn to. Except for Klaus, who was currently in rehab, and her sister Vanya who lived all the way across the city from her. Without a second thought, she picked up the phone and called her, hoping that she was still awake.

"Hello?" A voice on the other end tiredly asked. "Hey Vanya," Dusk said softly. "It's 2 in the morning, Dusk. Shouldn't you be asleep?" The raven answered negatively. As Vanya grew concerned about her call, Dusk proceeded to tell her what happened, knowing that she wouldn't face judgment from her sister. They hadn't been in close contact ever since The Academy broke up. But they grew even further apart after Vanya published a book about her life being the only one left out in the academy.

"And then he blames me for cheating because I'm working all the time. I'm the one who's putting food on the table, and he's sitting back on his ass, watching me do all the hard work like I'm his mommy! Grow up, buddy," Dusk finished. "Jesus, I'm sorry. You didn't deserve that," Vanya inhaled sharply. "Thanks, so are you going to Dad's funeral?" Dusk asked. "Yeah, I'm just scared of facing the others after the book. You're not too upset with me, are you?" Dusk recalled reading her autobiography. She wasn't mad at Vanya for speaking her truth, but she was a bit surprised and worried about how their siblings would react once they read the book. Especially since a few of them were rather hot-headed and against her since they were kids.

"I wouldn't worry about it too much, Vanya. Sure, they may be a little sour, but it's been a few years. Hopefully, they've forgotten most of it," Dusk answered, hoping her words spoke the truth. A sigh came from the other side of the phone, and the two wrapped up their conversation before Dusk collapsed onto the couch again and slowly slipped into slumber, feeling relieved she told somebody about what was going on.